Processes for the manufacture of carpet material in general, and carpet tiles in particular, are well known in the art --see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,918, 4,595,617, 4,634,730 and published European Patent Application No. 171 201.
A typical carpet material may generally comprise:
(i) fibrous carpet material, PA1 (ii) a thermoplastic composition which is laminated on the back of (i), and PA1 (iii) a foamed compound which is laminated over (ii) to a specified thickness and serves as the backing for the carpet material. PA1 (a) applying from about 30 to about 70 ounces per square yard of a foamed latex compound to a pre-coated carpet, said foamed compound comprising, per 100 parts by weight of one or more rubbery polymers selected from the group consisting of: PA1 (i) polymers comprising from about 20 to about 80 parts by weight of a C.sub.8 -C.sub.12 vinyl aromatic monomer which is unsubstituted or substituted by a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl radical or a chlorine or bromine atom and from about 20 to about 80 parts by weight of a C.sub.4 -C.sub.6 conjugated diolefin which is unsubstituted or substituted by a chlorine atom, and PA1 (b) applying said non-woven scrim material over said foamed compound thus forming a laminate carpet material, PA1 (c) subjecting said foamed compound to a heat treatment at a temperature of from about 70.degree. to about 85.degree. C. for a period of from about 1 to about 5 minutes to gell said foam; PA1 (d) compressing said laminate carpet material; and PA1 (e) vulcanizing and drying said compressed laminate carpet material by subjecting it to a temperature of from about 100.degree. to about 150.degree. C. for a period of from about 10 to about 30 minutes.
Installation of the carpet material can be achieved through numerous techniques, one of which employs the use of adhesive compounds to hold the carpet material in place.
After installation of the carpet, there usually arises a need for its removal due to carpet wear, installation of floor wiring under the carpet and the like. In the removal of the carpet, foam delamination from the carpet is a problem which usually occurs. Foam delamination occurs because the adhesion between the foamed backing and the floor is greater than the internal cohesive strength of the foamed backing and results in substantial amounts of foam backing remaining adhered to the floor. Methods to remove the foamed compound which remains adhered to the floor can be manpower and/or equipment intensive, giving rise to added expense. The improved foam backed carpet produced by the process of the present invention seeks to overcome the problem of foam delamination from the carpet material during removal.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a process for the production of an improved laminate foamed carpet, which carpet, after installation and removal, will exhibit significantly reduced foam delamination.